Official 2020 College Football Thread

[JPhillips]

Me, too. I just don't want the emotional investment when they disappoint. I'd rather be happy and watch the game without concern for the outcome.

[Atocep]

[Atocep]

If the NCAA approves an extra year of eligibility for fall athletes (which sounds inevitable) and expands rosters that's a giant FU to spring sports. I also don't know how you approve an additional year for some conferences and expand rosters with other conferences still (potentially) playing this fall.

I'm sure whatever decision is made will be the worst possible.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Atocep

That is phenomenal. Just needed ND to show up & them be forced to add them in, but I guess with the ACC deal this year it wouldn't apply

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Atocep

If the NCAA approves an extra year of eligibility for fall athletes (which sounds inevitable) and expands rosters that's a giant FU to spring sports.

Why? They did the same for spring athletes a few months ago.

If this plays out the way it did in the spring, who this really screws is HS juniors/seniors who will be scrambling to re-assess their commitments given the potential for an extra class of players on the roster/depth chart of the team they expected to join.

This happened in softball following the extra year of eligibility from the spring, where schools brought back their entire senior class plus had a signed class of freshmen coming in. That left the rising sophomores/juniors in a bad spot and a number of teams saw several players transfer out rather than compete with seniors who they thought were going to be gone.

But longer-term, the problem with 5 years of players on the roster is that after the 1st year, all of those roster spots are going to count against the scholarship cap, so you've got limited scholarships to offer to current HS players. There will be a lot of movement both in commitments and in current players in the "sandwich classes."

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Why? They did the same for spring athletes a few months ago.

If this plays out the way it did in the spring, who this really screws is HS juniors/seniors who will be scrambling to re-assess their commitments given the potential for an extra class of players on the roster/depth chart of the team they expected to join.

This happened in softball following the extra year of eligibility from the spring, where schools brought back their entire senior class plus had a signed class of freshmen coming in. That left the rising sophomores/juniors in a bad spot and a number of teams saw several players transfer out rather than compete with seniors who they thought were going to be gone.

But longer-term, the problem with 5 years of players on the roster is that after the 1st year, all of those roster spots are going to count against the scholarship cap, so you've got limited scholarships to offer to current HS players. There will be a lot of movement both in commitments and in current players in the "sandwich classes."

So I actually had to go back and do some more homework on this. The last I had seen they hadn't officially approved expanded rosters for spring sports yet and baseball had a hard cap of 35 players. The extra year of eligibility has caused all sorts of problems and doing so without expanded rosters would be an even larger cluster.

My understanding, and I do admit I could be reading this wrong, is that the spring sport athletes get an extra year and it's up to the school to honor that scholarship. Seniors (or juco sophomores) that are returning don't count again the 35 player cap for baseball. If the school declines to honor a scholarship for the extra year and the player decides to try to play somewhere else then he counts against the 35 man roster cap. That's why I've seen jucos flooded with sophomores looking for a place to play.

So I guess it's not the worst possible decision but one that's created a hell of a mess for schools and players.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by Atocep

So I actually had to go back and do some more homework on this. The last I had seen they hadn't officially approved expanded rosters for spring sports yet and baseball had a hard cap of 35 players. The extra year of eligibility has caused all sorts of problems and doing so without expanded rosters would be an even larger cluster.

My understanding, and I do admit I could be reading this wrong, is that the spring sport athletes get an extra year and it's up to the school to honor that scholarship. Seniors (or juco sophomores) that are returning don't count again the 35 player cap for baseball. If the school declines to honor a scholarship for the extra year and the player decides to try to play somewhere else then he counts against the 35 man roster cap. That's why I've seen jucos flooded with sophomores looking for a place to play.

So I guess it's not the worst possible decision but one that's created a hell of a mess for schools and players.

Yes, this is essentially correct. For most of the sports that split scholarships (such as SB), this isn't as huge a deal but it still results in large rosters and a backlog of players for the next few years, assuming all of the players stay. For instance, U of AZ softball brought back all 7 seniors for this coming year (don't count against 12 scholarship limit) and had 5 players (sophomores/juniors) transfer out.

In reality, this is a bigger deal for P5 than others because P5 have 4 year guaranteed scholarships and other schools are year-to-year, so after this "free" senior year, everyone has to fit under the scholarship limits. That is why current HS seniors are in a bad way.

For a mid-major coach, the next few years are going to be largely this analysis: is my part-time playing rising junior whose ceiling I already know worth a roster spot over an incoming freshman who could be a better use of my money because they have greater potential? Because all of the current players on their roster have an extra year of eligibility and you will need to fit 5 classes of players into 4 years worth of scholarships while still trying to bring in freshmen every year.

It looks like they may follow the same course for fall as for spring.

I’m told by a source that one of the eligibility proposals for fall sports athletes being discussed includes exceptions from counting returning seniors in financial aid limits next year. Some push back against overall roster size changes.

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) August 14, 2020

[bob]

Iowa Hawkeyes Drop 4 Sports, Admit They Are In Deep Financial Trouble

https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenwe.../#102987f12102

[tarcone]

Originally Posted by bob

Iowa Hawkeyes Drop 4 Sports, Admit They Are In Deep Financial Trouble

https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenwe.../#102987f12102

Yes, but we have a racist community that shits on women. What is your point?

[spleen1015]

Instead of cutting sports, why not cut some football scholarships?

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

Instead of cutting sports, why not cut some football scholarships?

Why would you cut scholarships for 1 of the 2 sports that actually make money when you have money issues?

[spleen1015]

All 85 of those guys are making money for the school?

The shitty part to me is they've made these other sports so dependent on the football money that they have to cut them when there's no football.

University of Iowa Athletics – Official Athletics Website

Ok, don't cut any scholarships. How many people work for the athletic department? Cut some of those jobs.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by spleen1015

All 85 of those guys are making money for the school?

You're not going to make more money by being less competitive.

The shitty part to me is they've made these other sports so dependent on the football money that they have to cut them when there's no football.

That's almost every sport at every school in terms of dependence. Where you are in the debt cycle and the size of your reserve fund makes a big difference on the impact though. Iowa is on the wrong end of both of those, with a major debt load AND already depleted reserves.

In the past couple weeks, Arizona reported similar anticipated loss figures, despite deriving more revenue from basketball than football. With both wiped out, the scenario on the books is similar.

Wyoming noted that men's football & basketball produced roughly double the revenue of their 15 other athletic programs combined (and that those 15 run at a loss of around $2.5m a year). They staved off cuts for now thanks to savings on travel and the standard percentage salary cuts to staff.

Vastly different programs in scope and scale, similar situations.

Stanford cut 11 (of their virtually unmatched previously offered 36) programs last month.

Iowa isn't alone, they just happened to be next.

[JPhillips]

I think actually Iowa is paying for doing things better than most D1 schools. According to the USA Today database, they didn't take any funds or fees from student tuition for the athletic department in 2018-19. That makes them more reliant on football TV money than a school like James Madison that pulls almost forty million from tuition and fees. Between reduced costs for not playing and an ability to keep drawing even a reduced pot of money from tuition, schools that generally aren't able to self-sustain will probably weather this better than schools that generally are.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by bob

Iowa Hawkeyes Drop 4 Sports, Admit They Are In Deep Financial Trouble

https://www.forbes.com/sites/karenwe.../#102987f12102

Which is pretty hard to accomplish when you consider all the Big Ten Network money that has been coming in. Kudos to their accountants!

[Ksyrup]

So what happens if this is Week 3?

NEWS: An #LSU position group has been hit by COVID-19, multiple sources told The Advocate. All but four offensive linemen have either tested positive or are in quarantine. (with @whalexander_ )https://t.co/6rcB9TFHsd

— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) August 26, 2020

[cuervo72]

Spread offense?

(7 on 7?)

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Spread offense?

(7 on 7?)

I think we should be more focused on the defense against the spread...

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

So what happens if this is Week 3?

NEWS: An #LSU position group has been hit by COVID-19, multiple sources told The Advocate. All but four offensive linemen have either tested positive or are in quarantine. (with @whalexander_ )https://t.co/6rcB9TFHsd

— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) August 26, 2020

And what happens if one of these kids gets the heart inflammation?

[MrBug708]

UCLA loses a a senior, who doesnt want to miss the fall season to transfer, to Baylor

[Ksyrup]

#UCF head coach Josh Heupel says 10 players have opted out of the 2020 season:

QB Darriel Mack Jr.
CB Tay Gowan
DL Kalia Davis
DL Mason Cholewa
CB Devunte Dawson
OL Allan Adams
OL Lamarius Benson
DB Elijah Benoit
OL Adrian Medley
DL Kendrick Wilson

— Brian Murphy (@Spokes_Murphy) September 1, 2020

[tarcone]

Dan Patrick is reporting the B1G season will start Oct. 10. This comes after Trump met with Warren and said the country needs the B1G (To paraphrase). HAHA

[molson]

I'm kind of hoping for the insanity of a split season, with about half the conferences playing in the fall and half in the spring. How would bowls and the playoff be handled in that situation? Just have some remnants of them in both?

[JPhillips]

How do the university presidents have any authority over athletics if they give in on this? It wasn't a close decision and nothing's changed between now and then.

[Ksyrup]

That's funny. Trump needs the midwest votes. He could care less about the west coast. I find it hard to believe the schools aren't going to have some say in this, at the very least to get their stories straight as to what's changed in the past month, as many schools have had to go online within the first week or two of classes beginning.

[tarcone]

Ames and Iowa City are numbers 1 and 2 in per capita positive tests of any metro area in the United States the last 2 weeks.

Not sure how a B1G president can justify playing when your town is one of the hottest spots.

[Jas_lov]

And I saw yesterday that the Cyclones are planning to let in 25,000 fans for their opening game, which just seems insane right now.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by molson

I'm kind of hoping for the insanity of a split season, with about half the conferences playing in the fall and half in the spring. How would bowls and the playoff be handled in that situation? Just have some remnants of them in both?

We'll have 4-5 teams claiming a national championship.

[Ksyrup]

So the Trump/B1G call was a publicity stunt by Clay Travis. Figures.

[Ksyrup]

Looks like the Clay Travis/Trump stunt didn't do much but generate a few hours of buzz.

Multiple sources: No immediate plan for @bigten presidents to meet to consider fall start to season. One source, "Oct 10 ain't happening."

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) September 3, 2020

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Looks like the Clay Travis/Trump stunt didn't do much but generate a few hours of buzz.

Multiple sources: No immediate plan for @bigten presidents to meet to consider fall start to season. One source, "Oct 10 ain't happening."

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) September 3, 2020

It probably falls into the "LOL, nothing matters" bucket. But I have to wonder if it actually hurts the President to promise something and to so quickly and clearly not deliver.

Would he have been better saying nothing than pretending that he was going to do something?

Or, does it still help him in that the Michigan swing voter has a vague sense of "at least he tried?"

Probably cancels out and lol nothing matters.

[Ksyrup]

I don't think it hurts him, any more than promising and failing to repeal and replace Obamacare, or promising tax cuts 2 weeks before the 2018 midterms, or the healthcare plan that was supposed to be ready by end of August, or any number of things he's just thrown out there as cheap and obvious attempts to get votes haven't hurt him. He looks even more fraudulent and stupid, of course, but there are too many people who excuse or look past it all for it to matter.

[dawgfan]

I'm not sure this will slow down the SEC, ACC & Big-12, but it should help provide a little more cover for the decisions by the Pac-12 and Big Ten:

PSU football doctor: 30-35 percent of COVID-19-positive Big Ten athletes had myocarditis

[ISiddiqui]

Sanjay Gupta is talking about that right now on CNN. He's mentioning that colleges were just doing some advanced screening to make sure athletes weren't affected by some of the supposed side effects COVID (as most were asymptomatic), and then they found that increased rate of heart inflammation.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

Sanjay Gupta is talking about that right now on CNN. He's mentioning that colleges were just doing some advanced screening to make sure athletes weren't affected by some of the supposed side effects COVID (as most were asymptomatic), and then they found that increased rate of heart inflammation.

It's also why any attempts to get broad immunity for COVID for businesses, schools, etc, should be met with a resounding "NO". If you want to risk the students, you pay for the lawsuits.

SI

[dawgfan]

Originally Posted by dawgfan

I'm not sure this will slow down the SEC, ACC & Big-12, but it should help provide a little more cover for the decisions by the Pac-12 and Big Ten:

PSU football doctor: 30-35 percent of COVID-19-positive Big Ten athletes had myocarditis

Turns out he was speaking off-hand before the study was published. I'm guessing he was referencing the work that Ohio State did that ended up showing around a 15% rate.

Regarding the claim that 30-35% of Big Ten athletes have been discovered to have heart conditions linked to Covid-19: It was incorrect.

Here is some clarification from Penn State.

"Dr. Sebastianelli wishes to clarify this point, and apologize for any confusion." pic.twitter.com/ATUc2FxDrU

— Kyle Bonagura (@BonaguraESPN) September 3, 2020

[dawgfan]

While the partnership was announced with the Pac-12, this is likely good news for all conferences and potentially everyone, full-stop. Rapid testing is the game-changer we need:

‘Game-changer’: Pac-12 announces breakthrough partnership for rapid COVID tests

[cartman]

BYU looked really good last night against Navy

[dawgfan]

Gee, who could have predicted something like this:

https://www.commercialappeal.com/sto...ak/5770916002/

[JonInMiddleGA]

For high school football (and college to some extent) fans who would like something to watch tonight, you might consider ESPN-U at 8p, as Prince Avenue takes on Rabun County in a battle of highly rated QB prospects.

Vandagriff (Prince) is currently committed to UGA (after backing out on Oklahoma) while Stockton (Rabun) is a junior who just committed to South Carolina last week. (Rabun is coached by Jaybo Shaw, brother of former SC star Connor, which probably didn't hurt matters)

It's the #1 rated 2021 QB prospect vs the #1 rated 2022 QB prospect, a fairly rare head to head matchup of such highly touted recruits.

If you're into such things, it should be interesting even without rooting
interest.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by cartman

BYU looked really good last night against Navy

They have a lot of experience on the lines and it killed Navy not having any contact all camp. Contact is limited during game week at all levels, hell we never even go to the ground once we get to game week, but to not have scrimmages or at least go to thud in practices was telling in how Navy played.

We will see how they look against Army, but if they get past them they should go unbeaten with the piecemeal schedule they have.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

For high school football (and college to some extent) fans who would like something to watch tonight, you might consider ESPN-U at 8p, as Prince Avenue takes on Rabun County in a battle of highly rated QB prospects.

Vandagriff (Prince) is currently committed to UGA (after backing out on Oklahoma) while Stockton (Rabun) is a junior who just committed to South Carolina last week. (Rabun is coached by Jaybo Shaw, brother of former SC star Connor, which probably didn't hurt matters)

It's the #1 rated 2021 QB prospect vs the #1 rated 2022 QB prospect, a fairly rare head to head matchup of such highly touted recruits.

If you're into such things, it should be interesting even without rooting
interest.

Thanks for the heads up.

Also, Utah broadcasts 10-12 games each week on KSL
KSL Live

Annnnd, our district finally approved a start of practice for fall Football of 9/28! Only a 6-7 game schedule and most likely only against other teams in our district, but I'll take it!

[bob]

I’ve seen several sources claim that Georgia Tech v Florida state is the marquee matchup tomorrow. Not sure I really believe that, but let’s go with it.

FSU -12
O/U 52.5

I’m thinking FSU and the under, right?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Definitely not what I expected from Prince Ave thus far. This is a very uncharacteristically physically small team they're fielding -- even moreso than the somewhat smaller than usual team from last year.

It may HAVE to be a one man show tonight if they're going to make a game of it.

And teams with size at WR / DB (not mentioning any names tho) may be tempted to start licking their chops a bit after this first quarter

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Definitely not what I expected from Prince Ave thus far. This is a very uncharacteristically physically small team they're fielding -- even moreso than the somewhat smaller than usual team from last year.

It may HAVE to be a one man show tonight if they're going to make a game of it.

And teams with size at WR / DB (not mentioning any names tho) may be tempted to start licking their chops a bit after this first quarter

That QB from Rabun is put together like a linebacker

[tarcone]

There are 5 teams that want to play in the B1G. There are 3 on the bubble. And the rest say no.
So I suggested that the B1G have 2 four team divisions that play home and away and play the other 4 team once.

That equals 10 games which qualifies them for the playoffs.

But who am I? Just a dude.

[JPhillips]

I'm assuming the OSU President is okay with coach Day's letter, but if he isn't, there's no way he can let them play before the Spring.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

That QB from Rabun is put together like a linebacker

Do not underestimate the importance of the seemingly stupid personal foul Prince took in the opening minute of the 2nd half. That's a little bit of who they are traditionally.

Their offense came to life starting with the run by the big back (who has been curiously absent all night), they returned to a physical identity .. and Rabun has not responded to that at ALL.

This is NOT the Prince teams of old -- the ones coached by future HOF coach Herron were notoriously slow starters and second half dominators -- but it's much more what I'm accustomed to seeing.

The gameplan coming in was, as often is the case with them under Vandagriff, not great. They win in spite of their coaching, not because of it. But when they play to win rather than to showcase his son, they're a better team. The kid is damned good but they're best when that occurs organically.

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by bob

I’ve seen several sources claim that Georgia Tech v Florida state is the marquee matchup tomorrow. Not sure I really believe that, but let’s go with it.

FSU -12
O/U 52.5

I’m thinking FSU and the under, right?

Clearly the marquee matchup will be Coastal Carolina at Kansas right? Coastal got their first Power-5 win against them after all

[Ksyrup]

UVA/VT September 19th game already postponed.